Check out Carl’s article, “De Leon Comments Irk Local Officials,” Originally Published in the Los Feliz Ledger.
LOS FELIZ LEDGER – Current President pro Tempore of the California State Senate and U.S. Senate hopeful, Kevin De Leon drew local ire recently over comments he made in an NBC Los Angelesinterview that many perceived as disparaging to neighborhood councils.
During the interview, De Leon spoke in reference to Senate Bill 35 (SB-35), part of an affordable housing package that aims to ramp up housing development by streamlining the approval process.
“I’ve had city councilmembers say to me, ‘You know what—officially I’m going to oppose [SB-35], but behind the scenes, wink-wink, please get it passed because we have been strangled, we have been handcuffed by the NIMBYism and the threats from neighborhood councils within our own communities,’” De Leon said in the controversial September 24th interview.
De Leon did not respond to multiple requests for an interview, but a spokesperson for the state senator emailed a prepared statement on the matter. In it, he sang a different tune, saying he respected the work of neighborhood councils and calling them “an important way for Angelenos to have that level of civic engagement.”
Carl Robinette 